A leafy haven popular with professionals, families and celebrities, set between the sophistication of Hampstead and youthful vibrancy of Camden. There’s a distinct down-to-earth and villagey feel here – in part due to the array of independent shops and boutiques and the close-knit community.
Photography by Emmanuelle Peri & Kathy Anne Lim
Meet the locals
Carly Madhvani
Founder, NW3 Interiors
“One of the best things about Belsize Village is the wonderful feeling of community here – popping out is never quick as I always run into somebody I know, whether that be friends, clients or other local business owners. There’s so much to offer locally, too: we buy all the flowers, fruits and vegetables that we use for styling our shoots from the local corner shop, Crescent Fruiterers, and I get all my dry cleaning and alterations done at the brilliant Pyramid.
I love to pop in and visit Catherine, who runs Fine Art Consultancy, to see what new artwork she has, or to find pieces for clients’ homes. OmniDe++ is a wonderful creative space for art, design and architecture. They ran some fascinating events and seminars before the pandemic, and I’m hoping they’ll be able to start up again soon.
Calci restaurant | Pivoine Nail Spa
For pampering, I love Pivoine Nail Spa, which is owned by Aya, who leads the Belsize Village Business Association and was responsible for starting the Belsize Village Streatery. Offering a European-style dining experience, the Streatery provides local hospitality venues with extra seating in the beautiful terrace square – it’s a really great initiative, and I can’t wait for spring and summer to come so that I can enjoy it again! There are so many tasty options when it comes to food and drink; my son likes to go to Belsize Organic after football for one of their delicious smoothies, and I take my daughter for dinner at Calici as she loves the fresh pasta there. When I’m entertaining friends but don’t feel like cooking I get delicious Chinese delivery from Oliver’s Village Café. With all of this on the doorstep, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in London…
(020 7209 4442; nw3interiorsltd.com)
England’s Lane | Belsize Park Gardens | Parkhill Road
Street hearts
England’s Lane
The hub of the local community, this picturesque thoroughfare is lined with independent businesses, boutiques and restaurants
Belsize Park Gardens
Seeking stylish stucco? You’ll find it in spades here. The properties are highly sought after and give Kensington’s finest a run for their money
Parkhill Road
If your idea of period perfection comes slightly later, you’ll find some fine examples of Art Deco and Modernist architecture on this popular road
XUL Architecture | Cinder restaurant | Partylicious
Local Heroes
XUL Architecture, NW3
Goldschmidt and Howland’s Philip Green recommends this commercially minded, client-centred architecture practice in the heart of Belsize Village. “Sebastian Sandler and his team are efficient and responsive, putting particular focus on the client’s experience as well as in finding ingenious ways of bringing light into architecture,”he says. “Since opening in 2008 the team have completed over 100 projects and delivered a total contract value of over £20 million.” Impressive stuff.
33 Belsize Lane, NW3 (020 7431 9014; xularchitecture.co.uk)
Cinder, NW3
According to Aston Chase’s Mark Pollack, “nothing better epitomises the charm of the area than Belsize Village itself, which has helped local residents discover one another and revive one of north west London’s most desirable locations, thanks to its variety of shops, restaurants and cafés. And none more so than Cinder, a relatively new small restaurant making big waves with Mediterranean sharing dishes prepared using a charcoal fired Josper oven… the food is truly mouth-watering.”
66 Belsize Lane, NW3 (020 7435 8048; cinderrestaurant.co.uk)
Partylicious, NW3
This small party planning, balloon and hire business ensures the whole of north west London is celebration ready. “They always pull it out of the bag when we want to organise something special for our new homeowners,” says Ben Curtis from Winkworth. “It makes their children’s first nights in their new homes truly magical. I have recommended them to lots of people for parties, balloon installations, equipment hire, candy carts and props. We’ve used them a lot and look forward to using them again.
(07851 129293; party-licious.co.uk)